In Maryland, Fiscal Discipline Is the Budget Limit

Maryland does not limit spending or revenues pursuant to a constitutional or statutory formula. It has developed a unique response to fiscal difficulties, which does not abdicate fiscal policy to formulas as happens under traditional limitation regimes The process used in Maryland is called Spending Affordability, and it serves to cause policymakers to prospectively focus on the relationship of public spending to the state's economy without altering the budget-making process. This article examines the Spending Affordability model in use in Maryland.